Brian Barnes was born in Houston and currently resides in Edina, Minn. He received a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and a master's degree from Washington University.

He served in both the U.S. Merchant Marine and the U.S. Navy Reserve, including service on an ammunition ship during the war in Afghanistan. In the Navy Reserve, he rose to the rank of lieutenant commander.

Barnes managed global sales and marketing for Cummins Onan, a Fortune 200 manufacturing company based in Minnesota.

He and his wife, Jennifer, have a daughter.

Brian Barnes was a political unknown when he entered the race to challenge U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, which includes the mostly prosperous Hennepin County suburbs south and west of Minneapolis.

Voters in the 3rd District are viewed as fiscally conservative but socially moderate, and though Republicans have long represented it, Democrats have seen it as an attractive target. When he entered the race, Barnes criticized Paulsen as someone who talks like a moderate but sides with hardline conservatives on most issues.

However, Barnes' race got a little tougher after a Minnesota court panel drew new boundaries for congressional districts that added several GOP-leaning precincts to the 3rd District.

Barnes has aimed his campaign message at Congress, saying it has not done enough to solve the nation's debt problems, to create jobs and to reduce the influence of special interests and lobbyists.

He favors protecting and preserving Social Security and Medicare. He opposes privatization plans, believing they are "defunding scams."